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INTRODUCTION This study comprehensively assessed the association between eight metabolites of urinary nicotine and cognitive impairment. METHODS This cross-sectional study was based on the data of Shenzhen Aging Related Disorder Cohort (SADC), including 51 elderly community data variables such as demographic characteristics, neuropsychological assessment and environmental factors, from July 2017 to November 2018. Participant's cognitive function was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale and urinary nicotine metabolite [including cotinine N-β-D-glucuronide (CotGluc), rac 4-hydroxy-4-(3-pyridyl) butanoic acid dicyclohexylamine salt (HyPyBut), trans-3'-hydroxy cotinine O-β-D-glucuronide (OHCotGluc), and cotinine (Cot), etc.] concentrations were measured by high-performance liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Generalized linear models and restricted cubic spline models were used to explore the relationships between the urinary levels of nicotine metabolite and cognitive function. RESULTS A total of 296 individuals aged >60 years were included. Individuals in the third quartile of CotGluc had a 0.786 point (95% CI: -1.244 -- -0.329) decrease or in the highest quartile of OHCotGluc had a 0.804 point (95% CI: -1.330 -- -0.278) decreased in attention and calculation compared to those in the lowest quartile (all p for trend <0.05). Compared with those in the lowest quartile, individuals in the highest quartile of CotGluc, HyPyBut, OHCotGluc and Cot, respectively, corresponded to a 1.043 point (95% CI: -2.269-0.182), 1.101 points (95% CI: -2.391-0.188), 2.318 points (95% CI: -3.615 -- -1.020), and 1.460 points (95% CI: -2.726 -- -0.194) decreased in MMSE total score (all p for trend <0.05). A nonlinear dose-response relationship between urinary levels of CotGluc, HyPyBut, OHCotGluc or Cot and cognitive function (all overall p<0.05, non-linear p<0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that urinary levels of CotGluc, OHCotGluc or Cot were significantly negatively associated with cognitive function (all p for trend <0.05) among females and non-smokers. CONCLUSIONS The findings highlight the public health implications of environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and effective interventions need to be performed for vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the risk factors of anastomotic leakage after minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) and to build a prediction model of the probability of postoperative anastomotic leakage. Methods: Clinical data of patients undergoing MIE, admitted in the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from March 2018 to March 2022, were retrospectively selected, and risk factors of anastomotic leakage after MIE were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. A prediction nomogram model was established based on the independent risk factors, and its prediction effect was evaluated. Results: A total of 308 patients were included. Thirty patients had postoperative anastomotic leakage, with an incidence of 9.74%. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, postoperative delirium, pleural adhesion, postoperative pulmonary complications, high postoperative white blood cell count and low lymphocyte count were risk factors for postoperative anastomotic leakage. A nomograph prediction model was constructed based on these risk factors. The predicted probability of occurrence of the nomograph model was consistent with the actual probability of occurrence. The calculated C-index value (Bootstrap method) was 0.9609, indicating that the nomograph prediction model had a good discrimination ability. By drawing the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, we showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of the nomograph prediction model was 0.9609 (95%CI: 0.937-0.985), which indicated a good prediction efficiency of the model. Conclusions: The nomograph prediction model based on the independent risk factors of anastomotic leakage after MIE can accurately predict the probability of postoperative anastomotic leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Testis-specific protein Y-encoded-like 5 (TSPYL5) suppresses several cancers in vivo, including colorectal cancer (CRC); however, its mechanism and role in CRC cell tumorigenesis in vivo remain unknown. Aims: To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of colorectal cancer and find new therapeutic targets to improve CRC patient outcomes. Settings and Design: Male mice (4 weeks old, 16-22 g) were housed in sterile cages in a temperature-controlled room (20-25°C) with a 12 h light/dark cycle and ad libitum food and water. Methods and Materials: TSPYL5 overexpressing or non-overexpressing HCT116 cells were used to create a nude mouse tumor model. Tumor tissue was evaluated histologically after hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) staining. TUNEL staining assessed tumor cell apoptosis. Ki67 expression in excised tumor tissue was measured by immunohistochemistry. Western blotting examined double-stranded break (DBS)-associated protein expression in vivo. Statistical Analysis Used: IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0 was used for all analyses (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). At least three independent experiments yield a mean value ± standard deviation. Unpaired Student's t-tests compared groups. One-way analysis of variance and Dunnett's test were used to compare groups with a P value < 0.5. Results: TSPYL5 overexpression inhibited CRC cell tumorigenicity and damaged tumor cells in vivo. TSPYL5 overexpression also significantly increased Bax and p-H2AX (early double-stranded break indicators) and decreased Ki67, Bcl-2, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor expression. Conclusions: Collectively, TSPYL5 overexpression inhibited the tumorigenicity of CRC cells in vivo by inducing DNA damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enable the accurate detection of grain moisture content and improve the efficiency of the drying process, a parallel-plate moisture content detection device (PPMCDD) was developed in this study. Firstly, the detection principle and influencing factors of this device are analyzed. Then the effects of three key factors as distance, thickness, relative area on the accuracy of the device were determined through simulation, and the optimal combination of parameters was obtained through analysis of variance of a regression model and response surface methodology. Finally, a simple test bench is built to verify the effectiveness of PPMCDD by comparative experiment. Through simulation and response surface analysis, the optimal combination parameters are as follows: thickness =1 mm, pacing =19.54 mm, relative area =4023.17 mm2, corresponding to the measured capacitance value of 37.676 pF. By comparative experimental analysis, it is found that the maximal relative error of the moisture content detection device evaluated in this study was 1.58%. The detection error is small, and the device exhibits high accuracy and stability and meets the design requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soil water retention curve (SWRC) has a significant role in determining the unsaturated properties of soil. A stochastic optimisation algorithm named Rao-1 algorithm is employed to estimate the parameters of the SWRC model in this paper. The Rao-1 algorithm is a simple heuristic search algorithm containing only addition and multiplication operations. This paper introduces the method and its application in determining soil water retention this model parameters in detail. In this study, the van Genuchten model is used to depict the SWRC for its good fitting capacity, and the van Genuchten model parameters are determined using Rao-1 algorithm. The feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method are validated via the experimental results of 24 soil samples of 12 soil textural classes. Besides, the performance of Rao-1 algorithm is compared with that of salp swarm algorithm, the particle swarm optimization algorithm, differential evolution algorithm, and RETC program. Through comparative analysis, Rao-1 algorithm outperforms other methods in determining SWRC parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the deep learning techniques have expanded to real-world recommendation tasks, many deep neural network based Collaborative Filtering (CF) models have been developed to project user-item interactions into latent feature space, based on various neural architectures, such as multi-layer perceptron, autoencoder, and graph neural networks. However, the majority of existing collaborative filtering systems are not well designed to handle missing data. Particularly, in order to inject the negative signals in the training phase, these solutions largely rely on negative sampling from unobserved user-item interactions and simply treating them as negative instances, which brings the recommendation performance degradation. To address the issues, we develop a Collaborative Reflection-Augmented Autoencoder Network (CRANet), that is capable of exploring transferable knowledge from observed and unobserved user-item interactions. The network architecture of CRANet is formed of an integrative structure with a reflective receptor network and an information fusion autoencoder module, which endows our recommendation framework with the ability of encoding implicit user’s pairwise preference on both interacted and non-interacted items. Additionally, a parametric regularizationbased tied-weight scheme is designed to perform robust joint training of the two-stage CRANet model. We finally experimentally validate CRANet on four diverse benchmark datasets corresponding to two recommendation tasks, to show that debiasing the negative signals of user-item interactions improves the performance as compared to various state-of-the-art recommendation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstructive nephropathy often leads to renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Understanding of the pathogenesis of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis caused by obstructive nephropathy is crucial to the development of effective therapeutic drugs to improve the prognosis of the patients. Silymarin, a polyphenolic flavonoid extracted from plants, has been shown to exhibit antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects ameliorating liver and kidney damage. However, the effect of silymarin on renal fibrosis in obstructive nephropathy remains to be explored. In this study, we found silymarin improved interstitial fibrosis and apoptosis induced by TGF-ß1 and ameliorated oxidative damage. Our data further confirmed that silymarin regulates the TGF-ß1/Smad3 signaling pathway, and therefore improves renal tubular interstitial fibrosis caused by obstructive nephropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is an approach that is used to alleviate portal hypertension-related symptoms. The optimal stent diameter for TIPS remains controversial. Aim: To assess outcomes in patients who underwent TIPS using 8 mm and 10 mm stents. Material and methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were queried for all pertinent studies. The meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan v5.3. This meta-analysis was registered at the PROSPERO website (Number: CRD42020212392). Results: Eighty-two potentially relevant articles were initially detected, with seven of these ultimately being included in this meta-analysis. Patients in the 10 mm stent group exhibited a significantly higher portosystemic pressure gradient (PPG) relative to the 8 mm group (p = 0.04), whereas no differences between groups were observed with respect to postoperative hepatic encephalopathy (HE, p = 0.25), re-bleeding (p = 0.82), liver transplantation (p = 0.45), or mortality (p = 0.43) rates. The TIPS dysfunction rate was significant lower in the 10 mm group (p = 0.01). In Asian studies, the postoperative HE rate was found to be significantly lower in the 8 mm group relative to the 10 mm group (p = 0.02), whereas all other endpoints were comparable between these groups. In Western studies, PPG values were significantly greater in the 10 mm group (p < 0.0001), whereas all other endpoint data were comparable between these groups. Conclusions: TIPS with 10 mm stents provides a lower TIPS dysfunction rate. However, 8 mm stents may be recommended for Asian patients, as they can decrease the risk of postoperative HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new analytical formula is proposed to determine the mean outcrossing rate of nonstationary non-Gaussian performance functions. The performance function is firstly transformed into a standard Gaussian process using its first four moments and autocorrelation coefficient function, and the mean outcrossing rate of the time-variant performance function is then derived from the transformed standard Gaussian process and the cumulative distribution function of the correlated bivariate standard normal random variable. Based on the proposed mean outcrossing rate, an efficient methodology is then developed to evaluate the time-dependent structural failure probability of nonstationary non-Gaussian performance functions under the assumption that the outcrossing event (i.e., structural failure) is modeled as a Poisson process. Several numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. It can be concluded that the proposed method provides an efficient and useful tool for time-dependent structural reliability assessment in engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new genus and new species of blind freshwater cave crab are described from Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China based on morphology and mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences. The new genus, Phasmon gen. nov., is established for P. typhlops sp. nov., which is only the second blind cave crab known from China and East Asia. The combination of a very wide carapace, overall depigmentation, reduced orbits and vestigial unpigmented eyes of Phasmon immediately separates it from all known potamid genera. Molecular divergence estimates based on 16S rDNA suggest that the lineage to which the new genus belongs diverged from other potamids at the beginning of the Late Miocene (10.8 million years ago), much earlier than other Chinese cave crabs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a twisted-wire pairs (TWP) with random non-uniform twisting is established. It is divided into a complete pitch segment and a noncomplete pitch segment by the ratio between the pitch and the length. The randomness of the actual TWP cable is accurately simulated by the following methods: 1) random combination of complete pitch segments; 2) random combination of non-complete pitch segments; 3) random combination between 1) and 2). Based on the TWP model, an equivalent multi-conductor transmission lines (MTLs) model can be obtained. The neural network algorithm is introduced to describe the complex relationship between the arbitrary position of the TWP and the per-unit-length (p.u.l) parameter matrix. In addition, the crosstalk and the common-mode (CM) and differential-mode (DM) noise under field-to-wire coupling are predicted. The numerical results show that crosstalk and CM/DM noise in TWP cable are susceptible to the twisted pitch at high frequencies. Compared with full-wave simulation, the accuracy of the proposed method is proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving mixing and combustion augmentation of air and rocket exhaust gases become a crucial issue in RBCC ejector mode, in which the mixer is an effective way to improve mixing efficiency. In current study, the three-dimensional coupled implicit Reynolds average Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, SST k - ω turbulent model and Eddy-Dissipation Concept (EDC) reaction model are employed to investigate the flow fields with different mixer configurations, namely the lobe, rectangle, triangle, and pentagon. The simulated pressure of the prototype has the same trend with the experimental results. The different grid scales bring only a subtle difference for the simulation results, which prove the validity of the calculation results. Simultaneously, the vortex structure, mixing efficiency, combustion efficiency and total pressure loss are investigated. The results show that the lobed mixer and rectangle mixer retain the best mixing combustion augmentation characteristics, and the triangle is the worst. Besides, with the number of lobes decreases, the larger scale vortex structure is induced downstream the mixers. It improves the combustion performance by enhancing the penetration depth. Finally, all mixers only generate the total pressure loss downstream instead of the current location, revealing that mixers have less impact on the friction loss of the inflow. • The lobed mixer with unique flow field is applied to RBCC engine. • The tearing of the vortex structure promotes the mutual penetration depth. • The lobed mixer and the rectangle mixer retain the best mixing performance. • Decreasing the number of lobes is beneficial to augment the mixing performance. • The mixers produce no obvious total pressure loss under current incoming conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twisted wire used in complex systems has the ability to reduce electromagnetic interference, but crosstalk within the wire is not easy to obtain. This paper proposes a method to predict the crosstalk of multitwisted bundle of multi-twisted wire (MTB-MTW). A neural network algorithm based on back propagation optimized by the beetle swarm antennae search method (BSAS-BPNN) is introduced to mathematically describe the relationship between the twist angle of the wire harness and the per-unit-length (p.u.l) parameter matrix. Considering the symmetry of the model, the relationship between the unresolved angle of the BSAS-BPNN algorithm and the p.u.l parameter matrix is processed by using the multilayer transposition method. Based on the idea of the cascade method and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm in Implicit-Wendroff format, the crosstalk of the wire is obtained. Numerical experiments and simulation results show that the new method proposed in this paper has better accuracy for the prediction of the model. The new method can be generalized to the MTB-MTW model with any number of wires. All theories provide preliminary theoretical basis for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) design of high-band circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an observer-based robust preview tracking controller for Lipschitz non-linear systems. Firstly, the non-linear system dynamics is studied and the non-linear observer is designed. By introducing the Lyapunov function, the observer gain matrix is obtained through linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). To obtain an effective tracking control law, an augment error system which consists of difference of estimation error, tracking error, difference of estimated status and reference preview information is constructed. The sufficient solutions for observer-based robust preview controller are analysed using the LMI approach. Two numerical examples are provided to show the flexibility and effectiveness of the proposed robust preview tracking controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An eddy-current testing (ECT) method with miniature-printed circuit board (PCB)-based planar spiral coils for carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRP) is proposed in this paper. First, the electromagnetic model of the rectangular spiral coil is discussed, thus the analytical expressions of the impedance in free-space, and impedance change due to the eddy-current are provided. Next, the intensity areas of impedance change of a certain PCB-based planar spiral coil for metal and CFRP are theoretically given with different frequencies. Then, an ECT system for CFRP is established, and a resonant probe with a PCB-coil is designed by coupling to the parasitic capacitance of the cables. Finally, a series of ECT experiments for unidirectional, four-directional angle-ply, and orthogonal woven CFRP laminates are conducted. The results show that the minimum defect depth that can be detected on the unidirectional CFRP laminate reaches 0.1 mm. This study is an effective attempt for CFRP ECT based on planar spiral coils fabricated by PCB technology and lays the foundation for further ECT large-scale array scanners manufactured by PCB technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni nanoarrays were synthesized by electroless-plating and shaped by an anodic aluminum oxide template. The as-plated arrays exhibited superparamagnetic (SM) ordering resulting from nanocrystalline microstructure. Ferromagnetic (FM) ordering was found to be restored as the arrays' crystallinity was enhanced upon post-annealing. The microstructure (crystallinity) and the FM ordering are strongly coupled, revealing a magneto-structural correlation for the arrays. The magnetostructural properties of the arrays can be controlled by post-annealing, where the magnetization is proportional to the annealing temperature. The electroless-plated arrays synthesized in this work display magnetic anisotropy not found in electroplated ones. This is likely attributed to the nature of the clusterlike microstructure, whose cluster-boundaries may confine the FM rotation within the cluster. The spin-polarization was probed by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism while the arrays underwent the SM→FM phase transition. The sum-rules results reveal that the total magnetization of the arrays is dominated by spin moment (mspin). The change in mspin is responsible for the SM→FM phase transition upon annealing, as well as for the loss of magnetization upon temperature increase that we observed macroscopically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beidou Navigation Satellite Demonstration System and Beidou Regional Satellite Navigation System are accomplished, and the Beidou Global Satellite Navigation System (BDS-3) is under construction. Nineteen networking satellites have been launched by the end of November 2018. To assess the new and old signals of new networking satellites, the data quality is analyzed from the observation noise and pseudo-range multipath two aspects based on the data of iGMAS stations from 18th to 28th May 2018. The accuracies of BDS-3/GPS combined orbit determinations with B1I/B3I and B1C/B2a are compared. The results show that the data quality of the new signal B2a is similar to that of B1I/B3I, and the data quality of B1C is slightly worse than that of B1I/B3I. Comparing the orbit and clock correction accuracies of overlapped arcs (48 hours), the results with B1C/B2a are slightly better than those with B1I/B3I. The averaged 3D position accuracies (3D RMSs) of precise orbit determinations with B1C/B2a and B1I/B3I are around 35 cm. The RMS values of clock corrections are less than 0.5 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-linkedinhibitorofapoptosisprotein(XIAP)suppressesapoptosis and plays key roles in the development, growth, migration, and invasion of cancer cells. Therefore, XIAP has recently attracted much attention as a potential antineoplastic therapeutic target, requiring elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying its biological activities. Here, using shRNA-mediated gene silencing, immunoblotting, quantitative RT-PCR, anchorage-independent growth assay, and invasive assay, we found that XIAP's RING domain, but not its BIR domain, is crucial for XIAP-mediated up-regulation of c-Myc protein expression in human bladder cancer (BC) cells. Mechanistically, we observed that the RING domain stabilizes c-Myc by inhibiting its phosphorylation at Thr-58 and that this inhibition is due to activated ERK1/2-mediated phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) at Ser-9. Functional studies further revealed that c-Myc protein promotes anchorage-independent growth and invasion stimulated by the XIAP RING domain in human BC cells. Collectively, the findings in our study uncover that the RING domain of XIAP supports c-Myc protein stability, providing insight into the molecular mechanism and role of c-Myc overexpression in cancer progression. Our observations support the notion of targeting XIAP's RING domain and c-Myc in cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results on associations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-receptor associated factor 1/complement component 5 (TRAF1/C5) rs10818488 and rs3761847 polymorphisms with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are controversial, thus this study was performed to examine whether the aforementioned polymorphisms were associated with RA in a Chinese population. Furthermore, an updated meta-analysis was conducted. The polymorphisms were genotyped in 328 Chinese RA patients and 449 healthy controls. Studies examining the association of TRAF1/C5 rs10818488 and/or rs3761847 polymorphism with RA were exhaustively searched. No significant difference in either genotype or allele distribution between RA patients and controls was found. The updated meta-analysis was conducted based on 19 articles including the present study. A significant association of RA with TRAF1/C5 rs10818488 polymorphism G allele in Europeans (OR = 0.843, 95% CI = 0.730-0.975, p = 0.021) and in Asians (OR = 1.070, 95% CI = 1.009-1.136, p = 0.024) was found. Additionally, a significant association of RA with TRAF1/C5 rs10818488 polymorphism G allele under the recessive model in Asians (OR = 1.129, 95% CI = 1.023-1.246, p = 0.016) and in Africans (OR = 0.657, 95% CI = 0.507-0.851, p = 0.001) was found. Only a borderline significant association of RA with TRAF1/C5 rs3761847 polymorphism A allele was found in Europeans. Non-significant associations of RA with TRAF1/C5 rs10818488 and rs3761847 polymorphisms were found in our study. The updated meta-analysis results demonstrate that TRAF1/C5 rs10818488 polymorphism is associated with RA in Europeans, Asians and Africans, and TRAF1/C5 rs3761847 polymorphism is associated with RA in Europeans with borderline significant evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the statistical moments of performance functions from the perspective of balancing accuracy and efficiency remains a challenge. This paper proposes an efficient algorithm for evaluating the statistical moments of performance functions. The main procedure of the proposed method consists of three steps. First, based on the bivariate dimension-reduction method, the performance function is approximated by a summation of one-dimensional and two-dimensional functions. Next, according to the criterion of delineating the existence of cross terms, the two-dimensional functions are decomposed as functions including and excluding cross terms. Third, the one-dimensional point estimate method is used to evaluate the statistical moments of the one-dimensional functions and the two-dimensional functions without cross terms, whereas the two-dimensional sparse grid stochastic collocation method is applied to estimate the statistical moments of the two-dimensional functions with cross terms. Several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the efficiency, accuracy, and applicability of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves a good balance between accuracy and efficiency and provides a useful tool for evaluating the statistical moments of performance functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four species of freshwater crabs from three genera and two families (Cantopotamon hengqinense Huang, Ahyong & Shih, 2017, Nanhaipotamon guangdongense Dai, 1997, Nanhaipotamon macau sp. n., and Somanniathelphusa zanklon Ng & Dudgeon, 1992) are documented from Macau for the first time. One new species, Nanhaipotamon macau sp. n., is described. The large flap on the male first gonopod terminal segment sets it apart from all other known congeners except N. wupingense Cheng, Yang, Zhong & Li, 2003, from Fujian. Characters of the carapace, male first gonopod and size, however, clearly differentiate these two species. Preliminary genetic studies also suggest that the two are not closely related. A neotype is designated for N. wupingense. The taxonomic status of Nanhaipotamon guangdongense is also discussed. Notes on the general biology and conservation status of these crabs are also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication of diabetes and is the leading cause of vision loss in working-age adults. Recent studies have implicated the complement system as a player in the development of vascular damage and progression of DR. However, the role and activation of the complement system in DR are not well understood. Exosomes, small vesicles that are secreted into the extracellular environment, have a cargo of complement proteins in plasma, suggesting that they can participate in causing the vascular damage associated with DR. We demonstrate that IgG-laden exosomes in plasma activate the classical complement pathway and that the quantity of these exosomes is increased in diabetes. Moreover, we show that a lack of IgG in exosomes in diabetic mice results in a reduction in retinal vascular damage. The results of this study demonstrate that complement activation by IgG-laden plasma exosomes could contribute to the development of DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) and tris(n-butyl) phosphate (TNBP) are the most commonly used alkyl organophosphate esters (alkyl-OPEs), and they increasingly accumulate in organisms and create potential health hazards. This study examined the metabolism of TNBP and TBOEP in Carassius carassius liver and intestinal microsomes and the production of their corresponding monohydroxylated and dealkylated metabolites. After 140 min of incubation with fish liver microsomes, the rapid depletion of TNBP and TBOEP were both best fitted to the Michaelis–Menten model (at administrated concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 200 μM), with a CLint (intrinsic clearance) of 3.1 and 3.9 μL·min-1·mg-1 protein, respectively. But no significant (P > 0.05) biotransformation was observed for these compounds in intestinal microsomes at any administrated concentrations. In fish liver microsomes assay, bis(2-butoxyethyl) hydroxyethyl phosphate (BBOEHEP) and bis(2-butoxyethyl) 3-hydroxyl-2-butoxyethyl phosphate (3-OH-TBOEP) were the most abundant metabolites of TBOEP, and dibutyl-3-hydroxybutyl phosphate (3-OH-TNBP) was the predominant metabolite of TNBP. Similarly, the apparent Vmax values (maximum metabolic rate) of BBOEHEP and 3-OH-TNBP were also respectively highest among those of other metabolites. Further inhibition studies were conducted to identify the specific cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isozymes involved in the metabolism of TNBP and TBOEP in liver microsomes. It was confirmed that CYP3A4 and CYP1A were the significant CYP450 isoforms catalyzing the metabolism of TNBP and TBOEP in fish liver microsomes. Overall, this study emphasized the importance of hydroxylated metabolites as biomarkers for alkyl-OPEs exposure, and further research is needed to validate the in vivo formation and toxicological implications of these metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few approved drugs available for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Recently, we have demonstrated that isorhapontigenin (ISO), a new derivative isolated from the Chinese herb Gnetum cleistostachyum, effectively induces cell-cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and inhibits anchorage-independent cell growth through the miR-137/Sp1/cyclin D1 axis in human MIBC cells. Herein, we found that treatment of bladder cancer (BC) cells with ISO resulted in a significant upregulation of p27, which was also observed in ISO-treated mouse BCs that were induced by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (BBN). Importantly, knockdown of p27 caused a decline in the ISO-induced G0-G1 growth arrest and reversed ISO suppression of anchorage-independent growth in BC cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that ISO promoted p27 expression at mRNA transcription level through increasing direct binding of forkhead box class O1 (FOXO1) to its promoter, while knockdown of FOXO1 attenuated ISO inhibition of BC cell growth. On the other hand, ISO upregulated the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) activity of p27, which was accompanied by a reduction of miR-182 expression. In line with these observations, ectopic expression of miR-182 significantly blocked p27 3'-UTR activity, whereas mutation of the miR-182-binding site at p27 mRNA 3'-UTR effectively reversed this inhibition. Accordingly, ectopic expression of miR-182 also attenuated ISO upregulation of p27 expression and impaired ISO inhibition of BC cell growth. Our results not only provide novel insight into understanding of the underlying mechanism related to regulation of MIBC cell growth but also identify new roles and mechanisms underlying ISO inhibition of BC cell growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attraction recommendation plays an essential role in tourism. For example, it can relieve information overload for tourists and increase sales for tourism operators. When making travel decisions, tourists depend heavily on the personal preferences and suggestions from people they trust. However, most existing attraction recommendation methods focus on the tourist preferences for topics of attractions, yet overlook the seasonality in topic preferences. Additionally, extant studies are generally based on a single type of trust, which may represent trust relations inaccurately. In order to overcome these issues, we propose a novel season-aware attraction recommendation method based on the seasonal topic preferences and dual-trust relations. Firstly, we capture tourists' seasonal topic preferences by analyzing their travel histories along two dimensions: time and attraction. Secondly, we develop a dual-trust relationship (DTR) model based on familiarity-based trust and similarity-based trust, in contrast to existing studies that purely focus on a single type of trust. Thirdly, we propose a novel season-aware attraction recommendation method named SAR-DTR. In a specific season, it predicts ratings based on both topic preferences in the given season and suggestions from tourists they trust. To demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method to other approaches, an empirical study with real-world data was conducted. The experimental results regarding both prediction and recommendation performance are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone marrow‑derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and adipose tissue‑derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) are able to differentiate into neuron‑like cells when exposed to small molecule compounds, however the specific differences in their neuronal differentiation abilities remain to be fully elucidated. The present study aimed to compare the neuronal differentiation abilities of BMSCs and ADSCs. BMSCs and ADSCs from the same Sprague Dawley rats were isolated and cultured for use. The proliferation capacity was revealed using a cell counting method. Following BMSCs and ADSCs induction by four types of small‑molecular compounds, the expression of various neuronal markers and the secretion of several neurotrophic factors were detected by immunofluorescence, western blotting, reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and ELISA. It was demonstrated that the ADSCs exhibited an increased proliferation capacity compared with BMSCs, according to cumulative population doubling analyses. Following a 7‑day neuronal induction period, BMSCs and ADSCs exhibited a neuron‑like morphology, and were termed neuronal induced (NI)‑BMSCs and NI‑ADSCs. They expressed neuronal markers including β‑tubulin III, microtubule associated protein 2 and choline acetyltransferase. The number of NI‑BMSCs that positively expressed the neuronal markers was significantly decreased compared with NI‑ADSCs, and the expression and secretion of the neurotrophic factors nerve growth factor and 3'‑nucleotidase in NI‑BMSCs were additionally decreased compared with NI‑ADSCs. The findings of the present study indicated that the neuronal differentiation abilities and neurotrophic factor secretion abilities of ADSCs were increased compared with BMSCs. ADSCs may therefore act as efficient candidates in cell transplantation therapy for diseases and injuries of the nervous system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing spectral and photometric data of asteroids, a variety of classification methods for asteroids have been proposed. This paper classifies asteroids based on the observations in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Moving Object Catalogue (MOC) by using the random forest algorithm. In combination with the present taxonomies of Tholen, Bus, Lazzaro, and DeMeo, and the principal component analysis, we have classified 48642 asteroids according to their SDSS magnitudes at the g, r, i, and z wavebands. In this way, these asteroids are divided into 8 (C, X, S, B, D, K, L, and V) classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title compounds, tetrabutylammonium chloride--1,1'-(1,2-phenylene)bis(3- m-tolylurea) (1/1), C16H36N+µCl-µC22H22N4O2 or [(n-Bu4N+-Cl-)(C22H22N4O2)] (I) and tetrabutylammonium bromide--1,10-(1,2-phenylene)bis(3-m-tolylurea) (1/1), C16H36N+µBr-µC22H22N4O2 or [(n-Bu4N+µBr-)(C22H22N4O2)] (II), both comprise a tetrabutylammonium cation, a halide anion and an ortho-phenylene bis-urea molecule. Each halide ion shows four N--H ... X (X = Cl or Br) interactions with two urea receptor sites of different bis-urea moieties. A crystallographic inversion centre leads to the formation of a 2:2 arrangement of two halide anions and two bis-urea molecules. In the crystals, the dihedral angle between the two urea groups of the bis-urea molecule in (I) [defined by the four N atoms, 165.4 (2)º] is slightly smaller than that in (II) [167.4 (2)º], which is probably due to the smaller ionic radius of chloride compared to bromide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In structural reliability analysis, the input variables are often nonnormal and correlated. A procedure for efficient normal transformation, i.e., transforming dependent nonnormal random variables into independent standard normal ones, is often required. In general, Rosenblatt transformation is available to realize the normal transformation when the joint probability density function (PDF) of basic random variables is available and Nataf transformation can be used when the marginal PDFs and correlation coefficients are known. However, the joint PDF and marginal PDFs of some random variables are often unknown in practice, and the probabilistic characteristics of these variables are easier to be expressed using the statistical moments and correlation matrix. It is in this regard that the objective of the present paper is to develop a methodology for normal transformation including correlated random variables with unknown joint PDF and marginal PDFs. Based on the third-moment transformation technique for transforming independent nonnormal random variables into independent standard normal ones, the third-moment transformation is further developed for transforming the correlated variables including unknown joint PDF and marginal PDFs into independent standard normal variables. A first-order reliability method for structural reliability analysis including correlated random variables with unknown joint PDF and marginal PDFs is developed based on the proposed transformation. Using the proposed method, the normal transformation and reliability analysis can also be achieved for correlated nonnormal random variables with knowledge of only the statistical moments and correlation matrix. The simplicity and efficiency of the proposed method is further demonstrated through several numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sijunzi Decoction (SJZD) is a formula used for the treatment of spleen deficiency and gastrointestinal diseases in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Polysaccharides are reported to be the main components of SJZD responsible for its bio-functions. However, highly purified and clearly characterized polysaccharides from SJZD are not well described. Here we obtained a purified polysaccharide (SJZDP-II-I) from SJZD using ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Structure analysis by FT-IR and NMR identified SJZDP-II-I as a typical pectic polysaccharide with homogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan type I regions and arabinogalactan type I and II as side chains. In vitro studies indicated that SJZDP-II-I treatment could significantly enhance the total antioxidant capacity of SW480 cells, resulting from the promoted expressions of antioxidant enzymes and their master regulator PGC-1α, which would be valuable for further research and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the symmetric heat transfer performance of sodium-cooled fast reactor fuel assemblies was analyzed and studied. The model is analytically optimized based on sub-channel calculations. The deviations of the numerical simulation results from the pre-existing experimental data in the literature are within 10 %, with an average deviation of 2.5 %, which tested the reliability of the model. The calculated results demonstrated that the distribution of the axial power, temperature, and coolant of the reactor core is approximately symmetric M-shape. The reactor core coolant has a monotonic increase in axial distribution with the cladding temperature and the temperature peaks all appear at the reactor core outlet. The individual fuel assemblies' internal temperature is relatively sensitive to the axial power distribution, and there are troughs around the imports and exports. The simulated results showed that the center temperature of the hottest rod reactor core block reached 965.65 K. This paper provides a better guide to understanding the overall heat transfer effect by optimizing the heat transfer model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microbial oil is one important bio-product for its important function in energy, chemical, and food industry. Finding suitable substrates is one key issue for its industrial application. Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates can be utilized by oleaginous microorganisms with two different bio-pathways ("de novo" lipid fermentation and "ex novo" lipid fermentation). To date, most of the research on lipid fermentation has focused mainly on only one fermentation pathway and little work was carried out on both "de novo" and "ex novo" lipid fermentation simultaneously; thus, the advantages of both lipid fermentation cannot be fulfilled comprehensively. Results: In this study, corncob acid hydrolysate with soybean oil was used as a mix-medium for combined "de novo" and "ex novo" lipid fermentation by oleaginous yeast Trichosporon dermatis. Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates (sugars and soybean oil) in the medium can be utilized simultaneously and efficiently by T. dermatis. Different fermentation modes were compared and the batch mode was the most suitable for the combined fermentation. The influence of soybean oil concentration, inoculum size, and initial pH on the lipid fermentation was evaluated and 20 g/L soybean oil, 5% inoculum size, and initial pH 6.0 were suitable for this bioprocess. By this technology, the lipid composition of extracellular hydrophobic substrate (soybean oil) can be modified. Although adding emulsifier showed little beneficial effect on lipid production, it can modify the intracellular lipid composition of T. dermatis. Conclusions: The present study proves the potential and possibility of combined "de novo" and "ex novo" lipid fermentation. This technology can use hydrophilic and hydrophobic sustainable bio-resources to generate lipid feedstock for the production of biodiesel or other lipid-based chemical compounds and to treat some special wastes such as oil-containing wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel acoustic wave-equation-based full-waveform source location method is proposed to locate microseismic sources accurately and efficiently. The proposed Fréchet derivatives of waveform with respect to location parameters are in two parts, one of which accounts for the influence of geometrical perturbation, the other accounts for the influence of spatial velocity variation on source location. Sources are accurately located with the new formula, especially in complex velocity models. The proposed method uses an improved scattering-integral (SI) approach which efficiently locates the source and almost halves the usual computation cost. To further accelerate the locating procedure, the truncated Gauss-Newton method is applied at negligible extra computation cost. Numerical tests show that far fewer iterations are needed for source location using this method than with the more commonly used conjugate gradient method. To reduce the problem of cycle skipping, correlation is applied to select the best starting source positions. Both 2-D and 3-D numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and high efficiency of the proposed method, and the robustness of the proposed method is also tested for the case when the velocity model is inaccurate or the signal to noise ratio is low. Finally, field data are used to show the realistic performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial distress prediction (FDP) has received considerable attention from both practitioners and researchers. This paper proposes a novel support vector machine (SVM) classifier ensemble framework based on earnings manipulation and fuzzy integral for FDP named SEMFI. We use financial data from the previous three years to predict companies’ current financial situation and divide the companies in each year into different categories according to whether they manipulate the earnings. Then, SVM is trained on different categories. The outputs of SVM are combined by fuzzy integral which adopts a new fuzzy measure determination method. This method considers the fact that recent financial data are more valuable for FDP. Additionally, when using the model trained by historical data for FDP, the external environment may have dramatically changed. Therefore, a fuzzy measure dynamic adjustment method is proposed by considering the confidence of each single classifier’s output, the consistency between each single classifier’s output and the diversity among classifiers. To verify the performance of SEMFI, an empirical study using real financial data is conducted. The results indicate that the introduction of earnings manipulation, the new fuzzy measure determination and dynamic adjustment method to FDP can significantly enhance the prediction performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a principled approach to accurately identify interesting places in a city through social sensing applications. Social sensing has emerged as a new application paradigm, where a crowd of social sources (humans or devices on their behalf) collectively contribute a large amount of observations about the physical world. This paper studies an interesting place finding problem, in which the goal is to correctly identify the interesting places in a city. Important challenges exist in solving this problem: (i) the interestingness of a place is not only related to the number of users who visit it, but also depends upon the travel experience of the visiting users; (ii) the user's social connections could directly affect their visiting behavior and the interestingness judgment of a given place. In this paper, we develop a new Social-aware Interesting Place Finding Plus (SIPF+) approach that addresses the above challenges by explicitly incorporating both the user's travel experience and social relationship into a rigorous analytical framework. The SIPF+ scheme can find interesting places not typically identified by traditional travel websites (e.g., TripAdvisor, Expedia). We compare our solution with state-of-the-art baselines using two real-world datasets collected from location-based social network services and verified the effectiveness of our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) is a well-known potent apoptosis suppressor and also participates in cancer cell biological behaviors, therefore attracting great attentions as a potential antineoplastic therapeutic target for past years. Anti-IAP therapy is reported to be closely related to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression level. However, whether and how XIAP modulates EGFR expression remains largely unknown. Methods: Human XIAP was knockdown with short-hairpin RNA in two different bladder cancer cell lines, T24T and UMUC3. Two XIAP mutants, XIAP ΔBIR (deletion of N-terminal three BIR domains) and XIAP ΔRING (deletion of C-terminal RING domain and keeping the function of BIR domains), were generated to determine which domain is involved in regulating EGFR. Results: We found here that lacking of XIAP expression resulted in a remarkable suppression of EGFR expression, consequently leading to the deficiency of anchorage-independent cell growth. Further study demonstrated that BIR domain of XIAP was crucial for regulating the EGFR translation by suppressing the transcription and expression of miR-200a. Mechanistic studies indicated that BIR domain activated the protein phosphatase 2 (PP2A) activity by decreasing the phosphorylation of PP2A at Tyr307 in its catalytic subunit, PP2A-C. Such activated PP2A prevented the deviant phosphorylation and activation of MAPK kinases/MAPKs, their downstream effector c-Jun, and in turn inhibiting transcription of c-Jun-regulated the miR-200a. Conclusions: Our study uncovered a novel function of BIR domain of XIAP in regulating the EGFR translation, providing significant insight into the understanding of the XIAP overexpression in the cancer development and progression, further offering a new theoretical support for using XIAP BIR domain and EGFR as targets for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new genus and species of freshwater crab, Yuebeipotamon calciatile gen. n., sp. n., is described from southern China. While the carapace features are superficially similar to species of Sinopotamon Bott, 1967, Longpotamon Shih, Huang & Ng, 2016, and Tenuilapotamon Dai, Song, Li, Chen, Wang & Hu, 1984, the new genus possesses a distinctive combination of carapace, ambulatory leg, male thoracic sternal, male abdominal, and gonopodal characters that distinguish it from these and other genera. Molecular evidence derived from the mitochondrial 16S rDNA supports the establishment of a new genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have obtained a suite of two-dimensional layered isostructural coordination polymers [M(pypa)2(H2O)2]n (M = Mn (1), Co (2), Ni (3), Cu (4), respectively), Hpypa = 1H-[3-(4-pyridy)pyrazole]propionic acid), and used them in catalyzing the homocoupling of aromatic halides. 3 and 4 exhibit preeminent catalytic performance on the homocoupling of aryl bromide or aryl iodide without byproducts, while 2 only promoted the homocoupling of aryl iodide. But 1 showed no catalytic activities for all tested aromatic halides. Subsequently, density functional theory was performed for the balanced geometry frameworks, net charges of atoms, and energy of frontier molecule orbits. By using this method we determined that the catalytic performance was influenced by central metal ions. For further improving the catalytic performance, polyvinylpyrrolidone or polyethylene glycol 20000 (PEG 20000) was used as surfactants to synthesize the microscales of 3's (3a and 3b). 3a and 3b showed more preeminent catalytic activity than 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to observe the varying expression of biomarkers in the microenvironment adjacent to colorectal cancer lesions to provide additional insight into the functions of microenvironment components in carcinogenesis and present a novel or improved indicator for early diagnosis of cancer. A total of 144 human samples from three different locations in 48 patients were collected, these locations were 10, 5 and 2 cm from the colorectal cancer lesion, respectively. The biomarkers analyzed included E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 (CK18), hyaluronidase-1 (Hyal-1), collagen type I (Col-I), Crumbs3 (CRB3), vimentin, proteinase activated receptor 3 (PAR-3), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), cyclin D1 (CD1) and cluster of differentiation (CD)133. In addition, crypt architecture was observed. Related functional analysis of proteins was performed using hierarchical index cluster analysis. More severe destroyed crypt architecture closer to the cancer lesions was observed compared with the 10 cm sites, with certain crypts degraded entirely. Expression levels of E-cadherin, CK18, CRB3 and PAR-3 were lower in 2 cm sites compared with the 10 cm sites (all P<0.001), while the expression levels of the other biomarkers in the 2 cm sites were increased compared with 10 cm sites (all P<0.0001). Notably, the expression of CK18 in 2 cm sites was higher than in the 5 cm site (P<0.0001), which was different from the expression of E-cadherin, CRB3 and PAR-3. The expression levels of Hyal-1 and Col-I at the 2 cm sites were lower than that of the 5 cm sites (P>0.05 and P=0.0001, respectively), while the expression of vimentin, α-SMA, CD1 and CD133 were not. Hyal-1 and Col-I may be independently important in cancer initiation in the tumor microenvironment. The results of the present study suggest that the biomarkers in the tissue microenvironment are associated with early tumorigenesis and may contribute to the development of carcinomas. These observations may be useful for early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security is of great importance to all countries. Correspondingly, agricultural price insurance is an important tool to maintain food security. This study adopts the traditional spider web model to establish a mathematical framework for exploring the internal mechanism of agricultural price insurance, which can ease the volatility of the agricultural market. Then, the influence of agricultural price insurance on the supply of agricultural products is examined. The findings show that the supply elasticity of most agricultural products is greater than the demand elasticity, with agricultural product markets presenting a natural divergence. Agricultural price insurance changes the supply curve of agricultural products by reducing their supply elasticity, subsequently positively affecting the reduction of price fluctuation and the stabilisation of outputs. Agricultural price insurance can even change agricultural product markets under certain conditions, allowing a shift from divergence to convergence. Moreover, by adjusting the insurance parameters of agricultural prices, the equilibrium yield and price can be changed, and the planting area and income of farmers can be maximised. The mathematical basis for agricultural insurance derived in this study can support food security strategies at the national level and further provide a theoretical basis to formulate policies and departmental measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel linear-chain polyamide charring agent named poly(piperazinyl oxalamide) (PPOA) was prepared successfully. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) proved that PPOA had a charring capability that was better than those of traditional polyamide charring agents. After incorporation of PPOA into ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer/ammonium polyphosphate (EVA/APP), the flame retardancy of EVA/APP was dramatically improved. At 25.0 wt % APP/PPOA(3:1), the OI value of the EVA/APP/PPOA system was 31.5%; its UL-94 rating was V-0. Both the peak of heat release rate (PHRR) and the peak of smoke production rate (peak SPR) for the EVA/APP/PPOA system decreased remarkably compared with that of EVA containing 25.0 wt % APP. The analysis of the charring mechanism of PPOA demonstrated that abundant heterocyclic aromatic structures were formed during the decomposition of PPOA, which endowed the PPOA with excellent charring capability and resulted in the low risk of combustion of the EVA/APP/PPOA system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic tendency of obesity and its strong association with serious co-morbidities have elicited interest in the underlying mechanisms of these pathologies. Lipid homeostasis, closely involved in obesity, has been reported to be regulated by multiple pathways. mTORC1 is emerging as a critical regulator of lipid metabolism. Here, we describe that the consumption of soy isoflavones, with a structural similarity to that of estradiol, could mitigate obesity through an AKT/mTORC1 pathway. Fed with soy isoflavones, the diet-induced obesity (DIO) male rats exhibited decreased body weight, accompanied with suppressed lipogenesis and adipogenesis, as well as enhanced lipolysis and ß-oxidation. The phosphorylation of AKT and S6 were decreased after soy isoflavone treatment in vivo and in vitro, suggesting an inhibition effect of soy isoflavones on mTORC1 activity. Our study reveals a potential mechanism of soy isoflavones regulating lipid homeostasis, which will be important for obesity treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein chemical synthesis offers useful and otherwise-difficulty-to-obtain biomacromolecules for biological and pharmaceutical studies. Recently, the hydrazide chemistry has drawn attentions in this field as peptide or protein hydrazides can be used as key intermediates for different synthesis and modification purposes. Besides being a traditional bioorthogonal chemical handle, a hydrazide group can serve as a readily accessible precursor of a thioester. This strategy significantly improves the efficiency and scope of native chemical ligation for protein chemical synthesis. Here we review the chemical transformations of peptide or protein hydrazides and total/semi/enzymatic protein synthesis methods involving peptide or protein hydrazides. Several examples of protein chemical synthesis using peptide hydrazides as key intermediates are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) makes a great contribution to host defense and inflammation. In many settings, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces iNOS expression through activation of the inhibitor of κB-α (IκB-α)-nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) cascade, whereas interferon-γ (IFN-γ) acts through Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) signals. Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), a major regulator of heat shock protein transcription, has been shown to regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), but it remains obscure whether and how HSF1 affects iNOS induction.Methods: Western blot was used to measure the protein expression. The mRNA level was measured by real-time PCR. Silence of HSF1 was achieved by small interfering RNA. Nitric oxide (NO) content and NF-κB binding activity were assayed by commercial kits. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was used to measure the binding activity of NF-κB and STAT1 to iNOS promoters.Results: HSF1 inhibition or knockdown prevented the LPS- and/or IFN-γ-stimulated iNOS protein expression in cultured microglia. HSF1 inhibition blocked iNOS mRNA transcription. These inhibitory effects of HSF1 inhibition on iNOS expression were confirmed in brain tissues from endotoxemic mice. Further analysis showed that HSF1 inhibition had no effect on IκB-α degradation and NF-κB or STAT1 phosphorylation in LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated cells. The nuclear transport of active NF-κB or STAT1 was also not affected by HSF1 inhibition, but HSF1 inhibition reduced the binding of NF-κB and STAT1 to their DNA elements. In addition, HSF1 inhibition reduced NF-κB and STAT1 bindings to iNOS promoter inside the LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated cells.Conclusions: This preventing effect of HSF1 inhibition on iNOS mRNA transcription presents the necessary role of HSF1 in iNOS induction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial properties are highly important to the performance of some energy-related systems. The in-depth understanding of the interface requires highly sensitive in situ techniques that can provide fingerprint molecular information at nanometer resolution. We developed an electrochemical tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EC-TERS) by introduction of the light horizontally to the EC-STM cell to minimize the optical distortion and to keep the TERS measurement under a well-controlled condition. We obtained potential-dependent EC-TERS from the adsorbed aromatic molecule on a Au(111) surface and observed a substantial change in the molecule configuration with potential as a result of the protonation and deprotonation of the molecule. Such a change was not observable in EC-SERS (surface-enhanced), indicating EC-TERS can more faithfully reflect the fine interfacial structure than EC-SERS. This work will open a new era for using EC-TERS as an important nanospectroscopy tool for the molecular level and nanoscale analysis of some important electrochemical systems including solar cells, lithium ion batteries, fuel cells, and corrosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nowadays, more and more traffic accidents occur because of driver fatigue.Objective: In order to reduce and prevent it, in this study, a calculation method using PERCLOS (percentage of eye closure time) parameter characteristics based on machine vision was developed. It determined whether a driver's eyes were in a fatigue state according to the PERCLOS value.Methods: The overall workflow solutions included face detection and tracking, detection and location of the human eye, human eye tracking, eye state recognition, and driver fatigue testing. The key aspects of the detection system incorporated the detection and location of human eyes and driver fatigue testing. The simplified method of measuring the PERCLOS value of the driver was to calculate the ratio of the eyes being open and closed with the total number of frames for a given period.Results: If the eyes were closed more than the set threshold in the total number of frames, the system would alert the driver.Conclusion: Through many experiments, it was shown that besides the simple detection algorithm, the rapid computing speed, and the high detection and recognition accuracies of the system, the system was demonstrated to be in accord with the real-time requirements of a driver fatigue detection system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To seek the effect that condition of the complexes has on the manufacture of the biaryl compounds, seven Ni(II) complexes, namely, {[Ni(L)0.5(bpa)(H2O)]·2H2O}n (1), {[Ni2(L)(dpp)2(H2O)]·4H2O}n (2), {[Ni(L)0.5(pbmb)(H2O)]·H2O}n (3), {[Ni2(L)(bmp)2(H2O)]·7H2O}n (4), {[Ni(L)0.5(pbib)1.5]·2H2O}n (5), {[Ni2(L)(pbib)1.5]·3H2O}n (6), and [Ni(L)0.5(beb)2(H2O)]n (7) (bpa = 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane, dpp = 1,3-di(4-pyridyl)propane, pbmb = 1,1′-(1,3-propane)bis(2-methylbenzimidazole), bmp = 1,5-bis(2-methylbenzimidazol) pentane, pbib = 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene, beb = 1,4-bis(2-ethylbenzimidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene), have been gained through hydro(solvo)thermal reactions of 5,5′-(hexane-1,6-diyl)-bis(oxy)diisophthalic acid ligand (H4L) with Ni(II) metal ions under the regulation and control of six N-donor ligands. 3-fold interpenetrating complex 1 belongs to a (4,4)-connected 3D bbf net with a vertex symbol of (64·8²)(66) topology. 3-fold interpenetrating complex 2 presents a (4,4,4)-connected 3D bbf net with a Schläfli symbol of (66)2(64·8²) topology. 3 features a (3,4)-connected 3,4L13 topology with a Schläfli symbol of (4·6²)(4²·6²·8²) topology. 4 possesses a (4,4,4)-connected mog Moganite 3D network fabric, and the vertex symbol is (4·64·8)2(4²·6²·8²). 5 takes on a (4,5)-connected architecture, and the point symbol is (4·69)(4²·66·8²). 6 is a (4,7)-connected framework, and the Schläfli symbol is (45·5)(47·5³·611). 7 has a (4,4)-connected 4,4L28 topology, and the point (Schläfli) symbol is (4²·64)(4·64·8). A systematic structural comparison of 1-7 signifies that their frameworks can be regulated through varied conformations of the flexible H4L ligand and diverse N-donor ligands. Between the proximal Ni(II) ions, the variable-temperature (2-300 K) magnetic susceptibilities of 6 display overall weak antiferromagnetic coupling. In the complexes-catalyzed homocoupling reaction of iodobenzene, 3, 5, 6, and 7 have been verified to be effectual catalysts for the synthesis of the biaryl compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Drug combinations are a promising strategy for combating complex diseases by improving the efficacy and reducing corresponding side effects. Currently, a widely studied problem in pharmacology is to predict effective drug combinations, either through empirically screening in clinic or pure experimental trials. However, the large-scale prediction of drug combination by a systems method is rarely considered. Results: We report a systems pharmacology framework to predict drug combinations (PreDCs) on a computational model, termed probability ensemble approach (PEA), for analysis of both the efficacy and adverse effects of drug combinations. First, a Bayesian network integrating with a similarity algorithm is developed to model the combinations from drug molecular and pharmacological phenotypes, and the predictions are then assessed with both clinical efficacy and adverse effects. It is illustrated that PEA can predict the combination efficacy of drugs spanning different therapeutic classes with high specificity and sensitivity (AUC=0.90), which was further validated by independent data or new experimental assays. PEA also evaluates the adverse effects (AUC=0.95) quantitatively and detects the therapeutic indications for drug combinations. Finally, the PreDC database includes 1571 known and 3269 predicted optimal combinations as well as their potential side effects and therapeutic indications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To systematically explore the impactof coordination complexeson the synthesis of 2-imidazoline and 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidinederivatives, five Co(II)/Mn(II)/Cu(II) architectures, formulated as{[Co(L)0.5(H2O)2]·CH3OH·H2O}n(1), {[Co(L)0.5(pbib)]·4H2O}n(2), [Mn(L)0.5(Hatz)0.5(H2O)]n(3), {[Cu(L)0.5(phen)2][Cu(L)0.5(phen)2]·0.5L·5H2O}n(4), and {[Cu(L)0.5(2,2′-bpy)(H2O)]·H2O}n(5) (H4L= 5,5′-(hexane-1,6-diyl)-bis(oxy)diisophthalic acid,pbib = 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene, Hatz = 1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-amine, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, 2,2′-bipy= 2,2′-bipyridine), have been designed and synthesized. 1presents a (4,4)-connected 2D sqlnet withits point (Schläfli) symbol of (44·62)2, which is finally extended to a 3D supramolecular frameworkby π···π stacking interactions. 2has a 3D (4,4)-connected new topology net with a point symbol of(86)2. 3features a (4,4)-connected3-fold interpenetrating 3D ptstopology network withthe Schläfli symbol (42·84)2. 4possesses two binuclear molecules, and theseadjacent binuclear units are further stretched to a 2D infinite packingstructure through two distinct types of π···πstacking interactions. 5is a 2D layer structure withthe (8)(84·122) topology. The magneticstudies of 1and 3elucidate that both ofthem signify antiferromagnetic interactions. 4and 5have been justified to be available heterogeneous catalystsfor the synthesis of 2-imidazoline and 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidinederivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]